Coker College to Induct 1987-88 Men’s Basketball Team

Jul 16, 2012

HARTSVILLE, S.C. – July 16, 2012 – Eighteen individuals – members of the 1987-88 men's basketball team – will be inducted into the Coker College Athletics Hall of Fame this fall.

In a unanimous decision by the Coker Hall of Fame selection committee, the 1987-88 men's basketball team will become the third full team inducted into the Coker Hall of Fame. The induction will take place during Coker's 2012 homecoming weekend. A ceremony is scheduled for 7 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 6 in Watson Theater, with the presentation given by director of athletics Lynn Griffin and Coker President Robert Wyatt.

"This is a special group of student-athletes to be inducted into the Hall of Fame," said Griffin. "These men are the foundation of Coker basketball, and I am proud to have them join the athletics Hall of Fame."

The 1987-88 team was the start of a great tradition of men's basketball at Coker. It was the first year for head coach Dan Schmotzer and the first time the men's program reached 20 wins in a season. Coker finished the year with the best record in school history at the time, 21-8.

Their historic season included wins over the Citadel, Wofford and University of South Carolina-Spartanburg, now University of South Carolina-Upstate. The Cobras made their first-ever trip to the NAIA District 6 postseason tournament and finished the season ranked No. 12 in the nation in scoring defense, allowing just under 64 points per game.

Individually, there were several stars were among the members of this team, including Coker Hall of Famers Dennis Woolfolk and Ray Henry.

Woolfolk was named second team all-district during the 1987-88 season and eventually went on to become Coker's all-time leader in points with 1,975. He is also second in points per game in a career, averaging 18.1, and is fifth all-time in assists with 350. Woolfolk set the single-season record for 3-point field goals during the 87-88 season with 123 and the single-game record for made 3-pointers, with nine against Limestone in December 1988. Woolfolk was a member of Coker's inaugural Hall of Fame class in 1997.

Henry, a 2002 Hall of Fame inductee, eventually went on to finish fourth on the all-time scoring list at Coker with 1,301 career points. He is fourth in career rebounds with 500 and holds the single-game record for field-goal percentage, hitting 91.7 percent of his shots against Presbyterian College in December 1989.

The 1987-88 Coker men's basketball team was a group of pioneers. It paved the way for the success of future generations of Cobra basketball players.

The other full teams inducted into the Hall of Fame are the 1994 baseball team, which was inducted in 2010, and the 1998 softball team in 2011.

Coker College readies undergraduates for personal and professional success through a distinctive four-year program that emphasizes a practical application of the liberal arts as well as hands-on and discussion-based learning within and beyond the classroom. Coker is ranked among the "Best Colleges" in the South by U.S. News & World Report as well as The Princeton Review. Located in Hartsville, S.C., Coker is within two hours of the cultural, financial and recreational resources of Charlotte, Columbia, Charleston and Myrtle Beach.